5,000 MT rice for Tripura arrives at Bangla port

AGARTALA: Landlocked and remote Tripura is set to receive its first consignment of 5,000 MT of rice dispatched by the Food Corporation of India via a fresh lifeline through Bangladesh bypassing the traditional national rail and road routes.

Bangladesh, besides opening up its ports to transport goods to neighbouring Tripura, has also decided not to levy any tax on the food grains for Tripura. The Sheikh Hasina government in Bangladesh has also upgraded and renovated 58 km of roads from the port to Akhaura at it's own cost as goodwill gesture towards Tripura, so that loaded trucks can move safely and speedily.

FCI officials said that this first consignment of rice through Bangladesh has arrived at Ashuganj port on Sunday morning. The ship arrived from Visakhapatnam via Diamond Harbour in West Bengal after travelling about 20 days.

The consignment will remain at the port till Id-ul-Fitr, scheduled on Tuesday, before the consignment is offloaded. "The rice is expected to start moving for Akhaura integrated check post (ICP), Agartala, by road in Bangladeshi trucks from Ashuganj port in next week," an FCI official said.

FCI took to this new route earlier this month following persuasion from the Tripura government to explore an alternative sustainable route for transshipment of goods.

The state government faced a challenge when Northeast Frontier Railway (NFR) announced it would suspend all train services between Lumding and Agartala from October 1 for conversion of metre gauge to broad gauge at least for six months.

"Tripura is connected by NH 44 with the rest of the country but due to poor maintenance of highways, it becomes risky travelling for loaded trucks and buses. With the inception of train service up to Agartala, all good movements were shifted to the railway. But since the railway service is going to be suspended for gauge conversion, FCI has opted for the alternative route via Bangladesh," said an official of the state food and civil supplies department.

Once the entire 5,000 MT of the first batch of rice is successfully transported to Tripura from Ashuganj port, FCI will move for delivery of subsequent consignments for Tripura via this sea route. "Tripura's monthly requirement of rice stands at 30,000 to 35,000 MT every month and in six months it would be around 2 lakh MT and the sea route would be the only viable option," the official added.

"The entire movement is likely to take 15 days including loading and discharge, as some extra days are required for necessary permission. But subsequent journeys along this route will take shorter time and be much cheaper than rail or road movement," said food and civil service minister of Tripura Bhanu Lal Saha. He said the entire movement, including loading, unloading and carrying, will be carried out by Bangladeshi labourers and 700 truckers.

"We have been informed that the Bangladesh government will not charge anything for transshipment and transportation of rice through its port and roads for Tripura. On the contrary, it insisted on long-term business relationship with Indian states," said a top official of the state administration.